Morgan St. @ West Virginia preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 19, 2010 ) Morgan St. 50, West Virginia 77

While West Virginia coach Bob Huggins didn't necessarily blame Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles for his team's season-opening loss to Texas A&M, he made it clear they needed to perform better. The senior guards obliged in a big way in their last outing, and will try to do so again Saturday when the No. 10 Mountaineers host Morgan State.

Carter and Miles totaled 16 points on 5-of-17 shooting and committed six of the team's 16 turnovers as West Virginia dropped an 88-65 decision to the Aggies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Nov. 10. The backcourt duo was much sharper in Wednesday's 98-64 home rout of American, however, as each player poured in 20 points on a combined 14-of-27 from the field and played a role in forcing the Eagles' three starting guards into 15 of the their 22 miscues. “We’ve got to have those guys play well. Dax was horrible in Germany and JC was bad, and they know it. They were the first ones to say it," Huggins told reporters Wednesday. The Bears began their season with a forgettable effort in a 17-point loss at Binghamton on Nov. 10, but rebounded with a 10-point victory at South Florida on Monday before defeating Division II foe Lincoln (Pa.) 72-60 on Thursday.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Nexstar

ABOUT MORGAN STATE (2-1): MEAC Preseason Player of the Year Phillip Carr (team-high averages of 12 points and 10.7 rebounds) made up for a 4-for-12 effort from the field in Thursday's win, finishing with 12 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Point guard Martez Cameron (10 points and five assists per game) was the only player to start every game for the Bears in 2016-17, but the 5-11 junior is off to a cold start (27.3 field-goal percentage), although he has minimized his shooting woes by going 11-of-13 from the foul line. LaPri McCray-Pace is also struggling with his stroke (29 percent), but the 6-4 freshman guard has scored at least nine points in every game and ranks second on the team behind Carr in rebounding (5.7).

ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA (1-1): The 6-2 Carter (16.5 points) - the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year - also added seven rebounds and seven assists Wednesday to go along with two blocks and a career-high nine steals, which tied for the second-most in program history. Sophomore guard James Bolden (team-high 17.5 points) has played 24 minutes off the bench in both contests, scoring a career-high 19 points versus the Aggies before adding 16 more against American. "That's what we put him in for. … The hard thing sometimes to get those guys to realize is that's why he's in the game. He was open several times in the first half and we didn't get him the ball and we should have gotten him the ball," Huggins said.

TIP-INS

1. Among rotation regulars who have played both games, Bolden leads West Virginia in field-goal percentage at 54.5, while the rest of his teammates are shooting a combined 39.6 percent.

2. The Bears rank first in the MEAC in scoring defense (63 points), field-goal percentage defense (39.1) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (37.9).

3. The Mountaineers are 58-4 in home non-conference games under Huggins.

PREDICTION: West Virginia 86, Morgan State 62